McDonald’s customers just got a glimmer of hope in a mud of despair

It’s one of the craziest things in the world.

More annoying than a cyclist going through a red light. Madder than a watermelon that only tastes like water. Yes, it’s even more annoying than watching political news on TV.

Because this has been happening across America for far too long.

You walk into a McDonald’s and the ice machine is broken. Lifeless. Not operational. Or just dirty and nobody wants to clean it.

The result? You don’t get a McFlurry.

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As a casual McDonald’s customer, I’ve been following this madness for a while. Thanks to a site called McBroken, I just found out that as of this writing, 24.49% of McDonald’s ice cream machines in New York are not working.

That’s (almost) a quarter. This is just terrible business.

Still, it’s a deal that’s sparked widespread consternation, partly because too many people fear McDonald’s never did enough for it.

In March, I wrote about a lawsuit in which a company called Kytch was suing McDonald’s because it believes the burger chain isn’t doing enough to ensure customers get ice cream when they want it.

Essentially, Kytch believes it has a simple, inexpensive solution — it’s calling it the Kytch solution — to ensure its ice machines are running efficiently.

Technical statement courtesy of Kytch’s attorneys: “The Kytch solution pulls data from McDonald’s soft-serve machines, displays it on Kytch’s user-friendly interface, and adjusts settings hidden deep within the machines, which can prevent failures before the machines can detect them Error.”

It borders on bliss, doesn’t it?

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Kytch also filed an injunction against the Taylor Company, which actually manufactures and maintains the machines. Kytch claims that Taylor created a device quite similar to Kytch’s own, so much so that his trade secrets were allegedly stolen.

Here is the glimmer of hope. A judge has now granted Kytch’s restraining order – which was filed a year ago, Motherboard reports.

Can I promise franchisees will now be able to use more Kytch devices so they can enjoy ice cream more safely? no i can’t

I can say that Kytch co-founder Jeremy O’Sullivan told Motherboard, “This is an important milestone because we now have the opportunity to seek justice beyond the egregious misappropriation of our trade secrets.”

Worse, Kytch says Taylor allegedly went around saying the Kytch solution wasn’t secure.

I’m concerned about McDonald’s stance on all of this. It seems this situation has smoldered longer than a Big Mac falling into a gap in the sofa in a frat house.

Why wouldn’t you want your machines to become more efficient? Why shouldn’t you find the best technological solutions to ensure this?

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How did McDonald’s management tolerate this crazy situation for so long? There is a real site monitoring and mocking your incompetence and you let it run for so long?

Then there are all your perpetually frustrated customers who are forced to shop for inferior treats like frozen yogurt.

At the time of Kytch’s lawsuit against McDonald’s, the latter stated, “McDonald’s owes it to our customers, crew and franchisees to uphold our rigorous safety standards while working with fully vetted suppliers.”

I am sure you will interpret every word of it.

Of course, the law moves very slowly. This is something technology companies have used heavily for many years.

But if the Kytch solution really is that simple and can offer more efficiencies, instead of sounding like one big law firm, can’t McDonald’s, Taylor, and Kytch all get along?

All customers want is a McFlurry when they crave it.

You’d think that wouldn’t be too much to ask. You’d think it could even be profitable for McDonald’s.